The condoms will be available in four sizes and can be grabbed from pharmacies and primary care units of hospitals.
Valentine’s Day is celebrated across the world on February 14. But the celebrations of love begin a week before with Rose Day on February 7. Considering that, Thailand is distributing 95 million free condoms to certain universal healthcare cardholders to promote safe sex including to curb sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and teen pregnancy.
The Southeast Asian nation is providing 10 condoms a week for one year to gold-card holders, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said, Bloomberg reported. She said that the condoms will be available in four sizes and can be grabbed from pharmacies and primary care units of hospitals.
“The campaign to give out free condoms to gold-card holders will help prevent diseases and promote public health,” Rachada said. The government aims to prevent syphilis, cervical cancer, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and AIDS.
The decision has been made as Thailand has seen an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in recent years. More than half of 2021 cases of STD included cases of syphilis and gonorrhea, according to the latest official data. The age groups most affected were those between 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 years, data showed.
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According to official data, in 2021, 24.4 girls between 15 to 19 years gave birth out of every 1,000. About 50 million out of nearly 70 million Thais are enrolled in the government’s universal healthcare scheme, also known as the 'gold card', according to the most recent government data, Bloomberg reported. The gold card is used to receive some medical care in public and selected private hospitals.
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 "Valentine’s Day: This country is distributing 95 million free condoms")
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